


To Kill a Prince

by zoeyeliza



Series: Irondad Whump [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Iron Dad, Irondad, PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Precious Peter Parker, Teen Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Torture, anxiety attack, spider son, spiderson, uhhhhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 02:38:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15809622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoeyeliza/pseuds/zoeyeliza
Summary: Peter finds videos of Tony being held and tortured by the Ten Rings while organizing files in the lab.





	To Kill a Prince

**Author's Note:**

> aka i project my issues onto fictional characters. plus i like angst
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Peter’s chest was tight, his eyes glassy and his breathing heavy. Nothing but his nightmares made him panic like this.

_ (But this was a nightmare. A real one.) _

Morbid images of his mentor were now seared into his brain. Tony on his knees, bloody and beaten. Drowning and screaming. Half dead.

The video was still playing in the background. Peter had to mute it to keep from vomiting, but it was still deafening in it’s horror. On the screen, Tony is being held underwater. He’s struggling to breath, his arms and legs thrashing against his captor’s grip. The masked man above him has his fingers tangled in Tony’s hair.

_ (He can’t stand people touching his hair anymore. They don’t know about the bald spots he came back with.) _

Tony’s head is yanked from the water and he lets out an involuntary gasp, his body thankful for a brief inhale. But he’s only thrust back into the torturous bath, allowed only a moment of peace.

_ (Sometimes he wakes up clawing at his throat.) _

After three more near-drownings, Tony is thrown to the ground. He curls in on himself, coughing and spluttering. Water drips from his nostrils. Tony’s mouth moves soundlessly on the monitor, spiking Peter’s interest.

He flipped on the volume, but regretted it almost immediately.

“–do it. Just kill me.”

Peter had never heard Tony’s voice so weak and vulnerable. The closest he’d come were the restless nights they spent together on the couch, recounting their nightmares and falling asleep, Peter’s head buried against his mentor’s chest. But this, begging for the mercy of death from a stranger, was the lowest he’d ever seen Tony.

_ (He’s been lower. Drunk, wishing to be back in that cave. Because he deserved it.) _

There was a sharp inhale from the doorway behind him, followed by a sob and a body hitting the floor. Peter turned, guilt reddening his face. But his shame was quickly replaced with worry when he saw Tony, his hands repeatedly hitting his head and tearing at his face.

“Stop!” Tony screamed, his voice scraping Peter’s ears. “Make it stop!”

The man on the screen echoed the man on the floor. Realization donned on Peter’s face and he quickly switched off the video. Tony, still writhing on the floor, was reliving his worst moments.

_ (He relived it more often than he’d like to admit.) _

Rushing to Tony’s side, Peter tried to restrain his flailing kicks and punches, but only managed to get hit square in the face by Tony’s fist. Against his better judgement, Peter continued to attempt to hold down the man’s rigid limbs. He begged him to come back to the moment, back to reality.

“Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark, it’s not real. You’re here in the lab with me. You’re okay, Mr. Stark, please!” Peter was starting to cry. He couldn’t help but feel this was all his fault. 

The pain on Tony’s face was excruciating. He wasn’t screaming and kicking anymore, but his muscles were tensed and he was breathing heavily. His eyes, which were previously clouded over with fear, began to clear and there was a spark of recognition in their brown.

“FRIDAY, call Dr. Banner!”

“FRIDAY, don’t call Dr. Banner.” Tony moaned. His jaw was stiff, cracking as he sat up and attempted to form words. His voice was thick with shame and guilt. “Kid? Did I hit you? Shit, I’m sorry.”

“No, no!” Peter wiped away the blood from his obviously busted lip. Despite his pleading, Tony still looked the boy over for injuries.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark! I was organizing files like you asked and I f-found footage from when you were in Afghanistan.” Peter’s voice cracked and tears continued to stream down his cheeks, mixing with the remaining blood on his chin. “I shouldn’t have watched it! I’m so, so sorry, sir.”

Tony wiped away the last of the blood and tears with a gentle, hesitant hand. His head, much to Peter’s surprise, fell into the crook of the boy’s neck and his strong arms wrapped around him. A breathy laugh tickled Peter’s collarbone and a smile pressed into his shoulder.

_ (He felt the same relief that he’d felt in the desert, collapsing into his best friend.) _

“Don’t apologize. And don’t call me sir. Or Mr. Stark. That’s my father.” Despite the weakness in his legs and the waver in his voice, Tony suddenly stood and dragged the video file to the trash icon. His facade was rebuilt and the previous pain on his face was gone without a trace.

“Alright… Mr. Tony?” Peter joked dully, purely out of sympathy. He wanted to talk to the older man about what had just happened, but that would have to wait for another sleepless night on the couch.

Tony snorted and started tinkering with a piece of scrap metal, acting as if nothing was wrong, his face emotionless. He didn’t want to discuss his demons right now.

_ (No one could understand that horror.) _

**Author's Note:**

> comment !!!! i love comments
> 
> im also on tumblr @ironlesbo


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